


The Charmed Ones, Rescuers of Pets

by proofreading_whats_that



Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: I’ll tag my stuff better in the future, Other, Pets, Salamanders, Sheila the Tortoise, Turtle Farming, Turtle Sanctuary, this was supposed to be just a story but I guess it’s not anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proofreading_whats_that/pseuds/proofreading_whats_that
Summary: Maggie dreams an unusual memory about a forgotten pet. The crew goes to the Home for Lost Pets. Mel and Maggie meet a strange witch.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. The Memory-Dream

Maggie flopped onto her bed, looking forward to a long sleep. She kicked her slippers off and got more comfortably situated in bed. It had been a long day with that weird red scaled demon breaking into the attic. She winced at the memory of the scratches along the hardwood floors. She lay down and sleep took her away to a memory.

\----  
  


_ “Mama, can we get a puppy?” Maggie asked pleadingly. _

_ “She’s right, a puppy would be great! They’re adorable!” her dad agreed. _

_ “Maggie, we can’t get a puppy. They require a lot of care and time. Maybe when you’re older,” her mom said. “Come on, it’s time for bed.” Her mom lifted her in her strong arms and carried her up the stairs. Her footie pajamas bumped against Marisol’s legs. _

_ “Sleep tight, sweetie,” her mom said. _

_ “I will if I get a puppy,” Maggie said grumpily. _

_ Her mom smoothed her hair from her forehead and kissed it. “When you’re older,” she said softly and left the room. _

_ All she wanted in her life was a pet. Not a pet, a  puppy . They were so cute! Cold puppy noses, wiggling tails, little barks and big yawns, what was there not to love? Distantly, she heard her parents talking. _

_ “No, Ray,  any pet is too much work, she’ll love it and forget to feed it.” _

_ “I’ll feed it!” _

_ Dream-Maggie slowly drifted off to sleep, the exhaustion of childhood pulling her away. _

...

_ “Little Bug, I have a surprise for you!” her father nearly sang. He held a large box and scratching noises could be heard. _

_ “What is it?!” Maggie squealed. “Oh, oh, is it a puppy, please?” _

_ “It’s better than that, Little Bug!” He placed the box on the floor. “Go on, open it!” _

_ Maggie crept forward and pulled apart the cardboard flaps, excited to see her new puppy. _

_ But there was not a puppy in the box. “This isn’t a puppy…” Maggie said, disappointed. _

_ Her father lifted the bulky animal out of the box. “It’s better. It’s a  turtle .” He set the animal on the floor. It had a high, deep shell, dusty and brown. The eyes were squinty and it had what looked like a beak for a mouth and holes for a nose, and all of that attached by a withered and wrinkly looking neck down into the shell. Its feet were withered and scaly. Maggie drew away. _

_ Her mom walked into the foyer. “Ray, what did you do?” _

_ Mel came swinging down the stairs. “Did we get a puppy?” she asked, nearly tripping down the stairs to get a better look. “That’s not a puppy.” _

_ “Every child needs a pet to grow up with!” Ray said enthusiastically. _

_ Her mother brought her hands to her face. “Ray… this is an  heirloom , not a pet, she’ll live for a hundred years! Do you know anything about them?” _

_ “But look how cute she is! Girls, what will you name her?” _

_ Mel and Maggie looked at the animal doubtfully. _

_ “Girls, I’m sorry, but we can’t keep the tortoise,” her mother said. _

_ “What? No!” Maggie wailed. “I want a pet! And her name is Sheila!” _

_ “Sheila!” Mel agreed. “You can’t take her back.” _

\-------

_ Maggie and Mel spent the next few weeks loving the unusual pet the best they could. They fed Sheila fruit and leafy greens. They came to love the way she would plod along. No matter how hard they tried, though, Sheila just couldn’t learn any tricks. She mostly just ate, plodded, pooped and peed. The girls did some reading about tortoises and came to settle with Sheila the Tortoise instead of a puppy. _

\-----

_ “Girls, I have something very sad to tell you,” her father said at breakfast. He poured orange juice.  _

_ “Oh no,” Maggie said. “Does Fred need to be fixed again?” she asked, referring to the car. She had an irresistible urge to anthropomorphize almost anything that came her way. _

_ “No, Fred’s fine for now. This is about Sheila.” _

_ Mel dropped her cereal spoon. “What’s wrong with Sheila?” _

_ “She won’t be living with us anymore. Sheila went to live in a turtle farm with other turtles. They’re having a grand old time!” _

_ “Ray-” their mother started. _

_ “She went to a farm?” Maggie said, her voice quavering. _

_ “You sent her to a  _ turtle _ farm?” Mel asked, incensed. “Sheila is a  tortoise! People eat turtles! Turtles born on farms! Sheila’s going to be  eaten!”  Mel said, tears leaking out from her eyes and her voice quavering as she yelled. _

_ Their mother sighed. _

\------

Maggie nearly fell out of bed, unsettled by the odd dream-memory. It was the middle of the night. 

She had a tortoise to save.


	2. Idlewild Turtle Sanctuary and the Home for Lost Pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew visit the Home for Lost Pets.

Maggie fidgeted at the kitchen table. She had been awake since her dream researching turtle farms. Fortunately it did not appear that there were any turtle livestock farms in Michigan. She had located a turtle sanctuary with an adjacent Home for Lost Pets outside of Hilltowne, though. Maggie was desperately hoping that Sheila might be there. It would be odd, after all this time, but still. Her dream left her unsettled.

Thus, she had gotten an early start on breakfast. She had diligently pulled out all of the cereal they had, all of the milks, spoons, and napkins. Maggie just needed the family to come downstairs. She had heard Macy and Harry get up, so there was progress there, at least.

\-----

Macy spotted the cereal, its accoutrements, and Maggie at the kitchen table in surprise. “What’s up?”

“We’re going to rescue a tortoise,” Maggie said.

“Huh,” Macy said, eyeing the cereal dubiously. She decided to hold off and hope that Harry would make breakfast rather than subjecting herself to cereal. She had gotten spoiled from the daily homemade cooked breakfasts.

“Good morning!” Mel said, walking into the kitchen. She helped herself to the conveniently placed cereal and paused. “Mags, what’s up?”

“We’re going to rescue a tortoise,” Maggie repeated. “Remember Sheila?”

Mel’s jaw dropped open very slightly and she raised her eyebrows. “God, I hadn’t thought about Sheila in forever!”

“What’s going on?” Harry asked as he entered the kitchen.

“Maggie and I had a pet when we were little. We wanted a puppy, but Ray got us a tortoise. Mom wasn’t a fan, so Ray gave Sheila away,” Mel said.

“He didn’t  _ give _ her away,” Maggie said. “Dad said she went to a turtle farm.”

“Mags, that means that Sheila was probably just let loose,” Mel said. “C’mon, you know it.”

“I can’t believe Dad would just let Sheila just wander around. What would a tortoise do in Hilltowne?” Maggie asked. “Idlewild Turtle Sanctuary is only about twenty miles outside of Hilltowne. It has a Home for Lost Pets!" she said a bit too excitedly. “Maybe Ray brought her there. He did say she went to live at a turtle farm, not a tortoise farm.”

Macy sat at the table resignedly with her cereal. Harry had already started.

“What’s the harm?” Maggie continued. “We go to a turtle sanctuary and learn about Michigan’s turtles. Maybe we find Sheila. Maybe we don’t. Either way, it looks like there’s nice weather in the Hilltown area today! And look, I even found a picture of her,” she said, passing it around.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Mel said. “For Sheila. Macy, Harry, what do you guys think?”

“Oh, why not,” Macy said. Harry nodded amiably.  
  


\------  
  


Maggie was right. It was a beautiful day. It was sunny but not hot and it was only mildly humid. Sunlight scattered through the leaves onto the wooden planked path to the visitor’s center, which had just opened for the day.

Macy pulled open the heavy door to the visitor’s center. Plaques and pictures hung on the walls detailing the types of turtles and other animals indigenous to Michigan that could be found at the sanctuary. On a smaller wall there was an exhibit about a subspace of the habitat called The Home for Lost Pets. Mel and Maggie made a beeline for it as Harry and Macy perused information about the animals that could be found at the habitat.

“The Home for Lost Pets,” Maggie murmured. The two looked at the small exhibit. “Founded in 1910 by animal enthusiast Sharon Kwok Sau-wan.”

“Probably someone who was told her that her pet went to live on a farm,” Mel said darkly.

They studied the plaque. _“Ms. Kwok Sau-wan_ _founded the Home for Lost Pets in 1910 after learning that families were releasing nonindigenous former-pet turtles into Michigan waters. The Home was created as a place where nonindigenous turtles could live rather than being released into the wild. The last fifty years have shown an increase in families keeping tortoises as pets, and then releasing them after doing insufficient research. The Home was retrofitted to also provide a habitat for tortoises.”_ Pictures of turtles who used to live at the Home were tacked on at diagonal angles, attempting to provide a happy vibe to the whole situation.

Maggie turned and walked towards a desk, Mel close behind where a woman was sitting. She had brown hair with a bit of gray, with an obviously recent haircut, half shaved and half angularly shagged. She appeared very out of place in the sanctuary. “Hi,” Maggie said. The woman was gazing into the distance out the window, seemingly at nothing. “Hello!” Maggie said.

The woman started. “You know, sometimes it’s better to give in rather than to keep fighting. Just give in, even when you’re told not to. Give in, even when you’re told it’ll make things worse.” She appeared to look almost inward. “I’m so sorry. I was on vacation, still getting back into the swing of things. Whew. Calculated risk,” she said, tapping the side of her mask. Her gaze became distant again then shook her head. “How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for the Home for Lost Pets,” Maggie said.

“I can take you there, certainly,” the parks woman said. “Here, just follow me.”

Mel beckoned over to Harry and Macy to follow.

The woman led them down a rough gravel path which occasionally gave way to wooden walkways when there was water. She happily chattered on about the various turtles of Michigan. Inundated with facts, Mel attempted to change the subject. “So, how’d you come to be a... turtle sanctuary person?”

“Oh, you know. I was outdoorsy when I was a kid. I loved to look for salamanders under rocks and pet them, poor things, they were probably scared to death. Used to try to find ancient artifacts, digging in the dirt.” The woman shrugged then snorted. “Ate wild strawberries. Lucky I’m here to tell the tale. Some twists and turns from that and here I am, and here we are.” She gestured towards the door. “Enjoy. There are some interesting animals in there.”

\------

Maggie pushed open the door to the Home for Lost Pets. It was bigger than it had seemed at a distance. It appeared that there had been more recent renovations than the ones for tortoises. To the left there was a large amphibious habitat, lush with water reeds, water, and ample dry area for the animals to sun themselves, which several were doing at that moment. Small webbed and clawed feet could be seen paddling in the water. The habitat looked extremely similar to the environment outside.

To the right a man was bent over the plexiglass enclosure. It appeared to be dry and sandy, with sparse desert-type ruffage growing from rocks. Next to that enclosure appeared one that was slightly less dry and more covered in leafy vegetation. The man turned. “Hi, welcome to the Home for Lost Pets. I’m Adam. How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for a tortoise,” Maggie said. “Her name is Sheila.”

“Maggie, I don’t think they’d know her name…” Mel said doubtfully.

“ _ Au contraire! _ ” the man said “We started keeping records of animals brought in a while back. Do you know when Sheila may have been dropped off?” Adam asked.

“I’m not sure, exactly,” Mel said. “It sounds like you would might records of her, though.”

Adam sat down and started looking in an outdated database. “If people drop off their pets we do the best to collect as much information as possible about the animal. Occasionally people, like yourselves, come looking for pets that their family discarded. Sheila, you said? It looks like someone retrieved her not too long ago,” Adam said.

“Oh my god, who? Where did they take her?” Maggie demanded.

\-----

Macy peered inside the tortoise habitats, comparing each to the picture that Maggie found. She had just finished looking in the desert-type habitat and had started on the less dry enclosure when she spotted a tortoise which may bear a resemblance to Sheila. The shell appeared the same color and had the same patterns. Her nails were the same. She wandered over to Mel and Maggie, who were arguing about the man releasing Sheila to another person.

“Hey, I found her, look!” Macy said excitedly, pulling them away.

“Sheila!” Maggie and Mel said excitedly, in unison.

Adam appeared behind them, nearly instantly, as if by magic. “I’m sorry, the Home is closing now. You’ll have to come back another day.” He looked shifty.

“What? You guys just opened!” Mel said.

“Yes, we don’t have long hours. We are closing now. The Home is not a standard part of the sanctuary.” Adam was herding them towards the door. “Thank you for your visit. Have a good day.”

“How odd,” Harry said. “One would suspect… well, it’s obvious, he’s hiding something.”

“Alright, we’re going to break Sheila out tonight,” Maggie said.

“Mags, you’re talking about breaking and entering,” Mel said.

“This seems like an awful idea,” Harry said.

“Oh come on, we have potions and spells galore! This will be easy and nobody will know,” Maggie insisted. “In and out, and we’ll bring Sheila with us.”


	3. The Excursion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mel and Maggie try to rescue Sheila and meet a strange witch along the way.

Maggie and Mel changed into their best sneaking clothes. “Got the cloaking serum,  _ revelate _ powder, and glamour powder just in case,” Maggie said. “Are you ready?”

“As ever,” Mel said. They were letting Macy and Harry do research about caring for tortoises. If they were going to bring Sheila home, it seemed important to know more about her species.

The two applied the cloaking serum and entered the Command Center portal to the Idlewild Turtle Sanctuary. They crept towards the Home for Lost Pets. Dim light emanated from windows from the inside.

“There’s someone there?” Maggie asked.

The two made their way to a window, carefully looking in. “Sheila!” Mel said, agonized. Adam appeared to be casting a spell over Sheila. Near him, amorphous figures similar to the long balloons at a car dealership swayed.

“What’s he doing to her?” Maggie asked, panicked. “Oh, I knew I had a bad feeling about that dream.”

\------

A crunch next to them made Mel jump. “What are you doing?” a woman dressed in black asked. She did not need a sneaking hat as her hair was blue-black. Maggie continued peering each window, casing the Home, after deciding that she was no threat.

“What? How can you see us? We’re here to rescue our tortoise!” Mel said. “What are you doing here?”

The woman sighed. “I’m a witch, obviously. I’m trying to do the same. Do you want or need my help?” the blue-black haired woman asked.

“Are you one of them?” Mel asked, gesturing towards the Home.”

“No! I just told you, I’m trying to rescue that tortoise too, and my turtle!!” the other woman said. “Do you want my help?”

“Well, I don’t know, what help are you talking about?” Mel whispered too loudly. A  _ shhh! _ came from Maggie several feet away.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Everyone needs a friend in times like these,” she said impatiently. “But you can’t tell anyone,” she insisted with a strange urgency.

“I’m still getting my powers back, I’m worried I might hurt you,” Mel said, genuinely worried.

“Hmm,” the other witch said. “Well, you’ll just have to be careful, right?”

“How about this,” Mel said, struck by a questionable idea. “I’ll  **_say_ ** what I mean. Like that. I’ll just  **_say_ ** it, rather than anything else. Just disregard anything I’m not saying,” Mel said excitedly. “That way, you’ll know where my power will go.”

The woman looked baffled. “That might work for you. I have better aim, though, so I’ll just keep on keeping on,” she said slowly as if Mel were about to pounce.

“Good deal, I hope,” Mel said. “I can be pretty dense, though, but I’ll do my best to pay attention if you feel like you need to say something or know something. But otherwise, I’ll just be me and do my thing.”

“Okay,” the woman said cautiously. “The guy in there seems to be a warlock. I have a pretty good warlock vanquishing spell to use, but you can’t tell anyone about it,” she said.

“Alright, I won’t,” Mel agreed.

\------

Maggie was glad for the few days with Tessa and all of the memorization she had made Maggie do. From her observations it appeared that the man inside was a warlock. It should be a relatively easy vanquish. She snuck back to Mel and the strange woman they had encountered.

“Ok, I think the best way to do this would be to turn him into a popsicle and I’ll bash his head in with my baton.”

“Damn,” the strange woman. “Ok, no bashing necessary, or freezing for that matter,” she said, looking at Mel nervously. “I have a handy-dandy warlock vanquishing spell ready.”

“Oh, great!” Maggie said. She snuck to the door.  _ “Revelate,” _ she whispered to the keypad, unlocking it. “Why don’t you take some cloaking serum?” she asked, looking at the exposed witch.

The strange witch nodded and disappeared under a few drops of the serum.

Maggie creaked the door open. Fortunately, Adam had his back to the door and did not notice them immediately. They crept in. The strange witch pulled out some powder and whispered a few words in the direction of the warlock and the strange beings. She blew. The powder floated towards the warlock, twisting around him like a tornado. A moment later, it disappeared with the strange figures with a small  _ *pop!* _ .

“Sheila!” Maggie cried happily, running over to the poor tortoise. “She seems okay, whatever he was doing he didn’t finish.”

Meanwhile, the strange woman was fishing a turtle out of the wet enclosure, smiling warmly at it and petting the shell.

\------

“See you around!” Mel said cheerily to the animal-rescuing witch. 

The strange witch nodded and waved.

\------

“Alright! I hope Harry and Macy went vegetable shopping like they were supposed to. Do they make tortoise diapers?” Maggie asked.

“Uh.. I have no idea, but I definitely hope so,” Mel said, throwing the marble onto the ground. They stepped through the portal.

And they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
